1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automotive vehicle construction and more particularly to an improved cowl construction thereof wherein fewer parts are used and construction is rendered simpler and easier while providing adequate rigidity for mounting brackets and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 1 to 4, show a prior art arrangement which comprises a dash panel 1 interposed between the engine room E and the passenger compartment C. The dash panel includes an upper dash panel 2 and a front cowl panel 4 which is welded along its forward and aft edges to the upper dash panel 2, to define therebetween an air box B having a substantially rectangular cross section. Cowl side panels 6 are secured to the panels 2 and 4 to close the lateral open ends of the air box B. The upper dash panel 2 is further formed with an air outlet opening 2a through which devices such as an air conditioner and/or ventilator induct ambient atmospheric air via the air box B. A water deflector or exclusion cover 10 (see FIG. 3) is disposed within the air box B to prevent rain water and the like from reaching the air intake opening 2a.
A pedal mounting bracket 12 is disposed on the drivers side of the dashpanel 1 and connected to the upper dash panel 2 by means of a mounting bracket 14. As best seen in FIG. 2, the point at which the mounting bracket 14 is connected to the panel 2 is reinforced by a reinforcement member 16 welded to the inner surface of the upper dash panel 2. This reinforcement member of course serves to prevent the buckling of the panel 2 under the influence of force applied thereto from a brake pedal or the like via the pedal mounting bracket 12 and the mounting bracket 14.
A windshield wiper mounting bracket 20 which supports a wiper linkage 22 (see FIG. 4) is welded to flanges 18 of the upper dash panel 2 and the cowl top panel 4.
A cowl grille 26 formed with a plurality of slits 26a, is arranged as best seen in FIG. 1 to be placed over fresh air induction openings 24 formed in the front cowl panel 4.
Each of the cowl side panels 6 are connected at the leading edges thereof to the trailing edges of hood ledge panels 28, which as shown in FIG. 1 extend along the sides of the engine room E to the front of the vehicle. The trailing edges of the cowl side panels 6 are connected to front pillars 32 via connector panels 30.
The upper dash panel 2, the front cowl panel 4 and the cowl side panels 6 (which define the air box B) in combination with the hood ledge panels, and the hood ledge panel reinforcing members 34 and the front pillars 32 (defined by outer panel 32a and inner panel 32b) are connected to the main chassis of the vehicle body.
However, this particular construction has suffered from the drawback that the water deflector 10, the reinforcement member 16 and the wiper bracket 20, are each individually fixed to the upper dash panel 2 which increases both the number of parts which must be produced, stored and assembled along with the correspondingly high number of handling and assembling operations. Accordingly both direct and indirect costs of manufacturing the vehicle are increased along with the possibility that during mass production one or more of the parts may be inadvertently omitted.